With the core group of Newcastle United players selected for the 2022 World Cup making it to the latter stages, and the Premier League restarting on Boxing Day, are Eddie Howe’s worst fears starting to come true?
Five players originally went out to Qatar, and of those five, the only player whose team didn’t make the quarter-finals is Switzerland’s Fabian Schar.
A perfect night for Portugal!
The Round of 16 comes to a close. It’s time for the Quarter-Finals 👀 #FIFAWorldCup | @adidasfootball
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 6, 2022
The other four, Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, and Callum Wilson of England, along with Bruno Guimaraes of Brazil, will be longer away from the club, as their respective nations have both progressed through the competition.
Newcastle were on song when Premier League season paused
When the Premier League season paused, Eddie Howe’s team were 33/1 to win the Premier League in the latest football betting odds. This made them third favourites with the bookmakers. At the start of the season, Newcastle were more regarded as a team looking to challenge for a place in next season’s Europa League, now the latest odds and football tips suggest they are real challengers for a place in the Champions League instead.
Will the World Cup now hamper those chances?
It’s already hard to see Howe’s full squad being available and ready for the busy Christmas period. A period of grace will be allowed to give players competing in Qatar a break, and they will also need a period of time to acclimatise.
In effect, they are already probably going to struggle to play a full part in the upcoming busy schedule. And losing any of the players of the quality of the five listed above is going to have an impact.
Howe doesn’t have the squad to absorb too many losses
Whilst Newcastle is a developing side, they still haven’t got a huge squad, and despite the riches now at the club’s disposal, they’ve been reluctant to recklessly splash the cash in the past.
So, this means the players likely to be purchased in January were already in the pipeline, and are not just quick fixes for a player who needs a couple more weeks to get back up to speed after the World Cup.
🏴 Kieran Trippier, Callum Wilson and Nick Pope all start on the bench for England this evening.
⚫️⚪️ https://t.co/b5mL8yc6PO pic.twitter.com/CIy5Q7o7W3
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) December 4, 2022
Some may argue that all of Newcastle’s World Cup contingent haven’t played huge roles in their respective countries’ matches, and that would be true. But whilst they may be well rested, they will now have a lack of match sharpness, and with the Premier League restarting soon, will also be expected to quickly adapt from the warm weather, to the British winter.
Is it already too late for Boxing Day?
This is why Eddie Howe (although he would never publicly admit it) probably wouldn’t have been too disappointed for all his players to be knocked out of the competition early, so he could have a good couple of weeks with them back in Newcastle, prior to the first match back on Boxing Day.
Whatever the outcome now, it’s already going to affect Newcastle’s upcoming fixtures. It’s just a matter of how badly. The longer the players are away, the more it’s going to impact. A place in the top 4 can’t be guaranteed over the Christmas period, but a poor run of form can go a long way to ruling you out of the top positions come the end of the season.